In the near future, the alien Dracters invade Earth, killing 99.9% of humanity and drilling a hole through Earth to terraform it into a more suitable place for them to live. The surviving 1% of humanity are placed in fortified shelters and have their memories of the invasion repressed, allowing them to live in peace while the unified world government and its forces fight back against the Dracters using armored mechs called Rogues.

Yamato Ichidaiji, a hot-blooded and psychopathic teenager who has recently begun to experience flashbacks of the Dracter's invasion and the death of his family, is chosen to be one of the pilots for the newly-developed Megaton-Class Rogues along with other chosen teens: Teru Asami, a calm, yet narcissistic teen with ties to the unified government; Ryugo Hijikata, a brawl-happy delinquent; Reiji Amemiya, a cat-loving pacifist; and Jun Kirishima, a feisty and talented girl. The fight between humanity and the Dracters will determine the fate of them and Earth, which becomes more complicated when Yamato meets runaway Dracter princess Arshem Laia, who strives for her people to coexist with humanity.

Rogues edit

To protect humanity and turn the tide of war against the Dracters, the united world government built armored bipedal machines called Rogues, which are designed to be mass-produced and are used as cannon fodder for their more advanced successors.

Some time later, development on a series of next-generation Rogues aboard the Shelter Ixia was finished and later dubbed Megaton-Class Rogues, which are more powerful and durable due to being made from Megatonium, a type of metal said to be stronger than previously discovered metal.

Musashi

The titular mecha of the series, who is named after Miyamoto Musashi and primarily piloted by Yamato, with Teru and Ryugo also occasionally operating it before they receive the Sparkman and the Gaudia. Musashi is the "jack-of-all-traits" among Megaton-Class Rogues and wields twin swords, also possessing the ability to shoot a beam from the Diffusion Cannon in its torso. Unlike most Rogues, the Musashi has three components: the Upper Torso, the Arms and the Lower Torso, which must be assembled together on higher altitudes through the Sky Build (スカイビルド, Sukaibirudo) formation.

Arthur

A mecha named after King Arthur and primarily piloted by Reiji. It wields a sword and excels at close-quarters combat, and its centaur-like lower body gives it greater mobility and agility than other Megaton-Class Rogues.

Maximus

A mecha named after the Pontifex maximus and primarily piloted by Jun, with Momoka as co-pilot. It excels at ranged combat, as it can use the missile pods in its body to fire homing missiles.

Sparkman

A mecha inspired by Thomas Edison and primarily piloted by Teru. It constantly generates electricity, which it can use to augment the power of its weapon or attacks.

Gaudia

A mecha inspired by the Spartan army and primarily piloted by Ryugo. It is the physically strongest of the Megaton-Class Rogues, with its large body giving it both high offense and defense.

Pilots edit

Yamato Ichidaiji (一大寺 大和, Ichidaiji Yamato)

Voiced by: Toshiki Masuda^[5]

A hot-blooded boy with a short temper but a strong sense of justice. His family was killed during the Dracter invasion, which he has recently been experiencing flashbacks of, and he becomes Musashi's pilot to take revenge on the Dracters. However, after meeting Arshem, he begins to reconsider his attitude towards the Dracters.^[6][7]

Ryugo Hijikata (土方 龍吾, Hijikata Ryūgo)

Voiced by: Shunsuke Takeuchi^[5]

A boy who is a delinquent and loves to fight, but is kind and compassionate to others. He is Guadia's pilot.^[6][7]

Teru Asami (浅海 輝, Asami Teru)

Voiced by: Soma Saito^[5]

A calm and collected boy who often acts as strategist and was romantically involved with his commander Sayaka Minami, who was Oblivion Bay's commander. He aims for coexistence between humanity and the Drachters. He is Sparkman's pilot.^[6][7]

Reiji Amemiya (雨宮 零士, Amemiya Reiji)

Voiced by: Koki Uchiyama^[5]

A transfer student to Yamato's class who is a pacifist and loves cats. He is Arthur's pilot.^[6][7]

Jun Kirishima (霧島 ジュン, Kirishima Jun)

Voiced by: Sumire Morohoshi^[5]

An energetic girl who is popular at her school and gets along well with others. She is Maximus's primary pilot.^[6][7]

Momoka Saotome (早乙女 萌々香, Saotome Momoka)

Voiced by: Megumi Han^[5]

A girl whose family owns a dojo and who is skilled in karate and martial arts. She is polite, caring, and willing to help those in need. She is Maximus's co-pilot.^[7]

Kota Akutagawa (茶川 康太, Akutagawa Kōta)

Voiced by: Ayumu Murase^[5]

A quiet boy who is later revealed to be an android Oblivion Bay recruited.^[7]

Takumi Kindaichi (金田一 巧, Kindaichi Takumi)

Voiced by: Yuki Kaji^[5]

A boy skilled with technology and machinery.^[7]

Dracter edit

Crouzade Laia (クロウゼード・ライア, Kurouzēdo Raia)

Voiced by: Miyuki Sawashiro^[8]

The queen of the Dracter and Arshem's mother.

Arshem Laia (アーシェム・ライア, Laia Arshem)

Voiced by: Tomoyo Kurosawa^[7]

Crouzade Laia's daughter and princess of the Dracter, who seeks coexistence between her people and humanity.

Video game edit

The project was originally announced on July 27, 2016, and set to begin in Q3 2017.^[9] Developed and published by Level-5 and directed by Akihiro Hino, the game released in Japan on November 11, 2021, for the Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4.^[10] Following the game's release, it has received free updates with additional content. Paid downloadable content (DLC) was released throughout 2022.^[11]

As of March 2023, the game has included collaboration with various anime robot properties including Mazinger Z, UFO Robot Grendizer, Getter Robo, Combattler V, and Voltes V.^[3] On September 20, 2023, an English trailer was publicly released.^[12]

Anime edit

The anime television series for the franchise was announced along with the game.^[9] The series was produced by OLM and directed by Akihiro Hino (chief) and Shigeharu Takahashi, with scripts also written by Hino, character designs by Takuzō Nagano,^[13] and music composed by Ken'ichirō Saigō.^[14] The series aired on Tokyo MX and BS Fuji from October 1 to December 24, 2021.^[5][15] The series' theme song is "Musashi", performed by Zuma.^[16]

The second season aired from October 7, 2022, to March 17, 2023.^[17] The theme song is "Eiyū no Uta", performed by Kodai Matsūra.^[18]

Several episodes were delayed,^[19][20] with episodes 24 to 26 airing from February 3–17, 2023, and the remaining two episodes airing on March 10–17.^[21][22]

In its first three days of release, the game sold 11,378 units, with 7,730 being sold on the Nintendo Switch and 3,648 on the PlayStation 4.^[23]

• Official website (in Japanese)
• Megaton Musashi (anime) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia